The present disclosure relates to electronics, and more particularly, to electronic memory devices and related methods.
As electronic devices provide increased speed and reduced power consumption, memory devices incorporated in the electronic devices may also be required to provide increased speed for read/write operations and/or reduced operation voltages. Magnetic memory devices are being studied as devices that may satisfy these requirements. Magnetic memory devices capable of providing high speed and/or nonvolatile operations are thus being considered for next generation memory applications.
Generally, a magnetic memory device may include a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) pattern. The magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) pattern may be formed using two magnetic substances and an insulating layer provided between the two magnetic substances, and a resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) pattern may be changed by changing magnetization directions of the two magnetic substances. For example, when magnetization directions of the two magnetic substances are non-parallel or anti-parallel with respect to each other, the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) pattern may have a relatively high resistance, and when magnetization directions of the two magnetic substances are parallel with respect to each other, the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) pattern may have a relatively low resistance. Data may thus be written by changing a magnetization direction of one of the two magnetic substances, and data may be read by detecting differences of the resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) pattern.